June 17, 2009

A Brooklyn man is accused of impersonating his dead mother in order to steal a Park Slope townhouse, social security benefits, and social service payments.

On at least two different occasions — including one time in front of police investigators — Thomas Prusik-Parkin outfitted himself as a 77-year-old woman, wearing a red cardigan, lipstick, manicured nails and breathing through an oxygen tank. (You can imagine the police investigators trying to hold back their laughter when they knocked on Parkin’s door.)

In the 1990s, Irene Prusik deeded her home, to her son, Thomas Parkin. At the time, Prusik, Parkin and Prusik’s other son lived in the building. Parkin was unable to maintain the home, and in January 2003 the building was sold at foreclosure auction.

But Parkin allegedly wanted to get the house back for himself. In September of that year, he and an accomplice, Mhilton Rimolo, are accused of doctoring his mother’s death certificate, and then suing the current landlord for real estate fraud claims.

The two are also accused of stealing Parkin’s mother’s social security payments for six years, totaling $52,000, and of stealing $65,000 in rent assistance from the city’s Human Resources Agency.

Parkin even went to the DMV disguised as his mother in order to renew her driver’s license, where was caught on video surveillance.